THURSDAY, Nov. 19, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Veterans with type 2 diabetes had durable maintenance of their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and hemoglobin A1c (A1C) goals, but not systolic blood pressure (SBP) goals, after discharge from a pharmacist-managed ambulatory care clinic, in a study published in the November issue of Diabetes Spectrum.
P. Benjamin Erwin, Pharm.D., from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and VA St. Louis Health Care System, and colleagues examined the ability of patients with type 2 diabetes to maintain SBP, LDL cholesterol, and A1C at goal levels after discharge from a pharmacist-managed ambulatory care clinic. Data were reviewed from the medical records of veterans with diabetes who were discharged after attaining their goal SBP, LDL cholesterol, or A1C.
The researchers found that 69 patients who were discharged from the clinic subsequently failed to maintain their goals. The mean time to failure was 9.4, 25.8, and 20.4 months, respectively, for SBP, LDL cholesterol, and A1C. For SBP and A1C goals, multiple risk factors correlated with the shorter time to failure.
"Veterans with type 2 diabetes in this study demonstrated durable maintenance of their goal LDL cholesterol and A1C levels after being discharged from a pharmacist-managed ambulatory care clinic," the authors write. "Patients who meet their SBP goal may benefit from receiving continued disease state management services from a pharmacist-managed ambulatory care clinic instead of being discharged to receive their usual care."
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